Five thoughts on Texas Tech’s trip to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas

Texas Tech accepted an invitation to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of
Texas on Sunday evening to play the 6-6 Minnesota Golden Gophers Dec. 28
in Houston.

Here are five thoughts on the Red Raiders 2012 bowl game:

It’s good to be back

After missing a bowl game in 2011, Red Raider fans can celebrate a
step forward and a bowl appearance after a 7-5 regular season. For more
than a decade the best part of being a Texas Tech fan was enjoying the
Big 12 Conference’s longest streak of consecutive seasons ending with a
bowl appearance.

To have that streak end last season was a major blow.

So to be back is a big deal.

Extra practices

Teams that did not make a bowl are in the process of checking in
their pads and heading home for the holidays where they will spend time
on the metaphorical couch and wait until spring to do football specific
activities.

That’s not an issue for Texas Tech this year. After some time off
between the Baylor loss back on Nov. 24 to this Thursday, the Red
Raiders will commence 15 bowl practices. The practices will be spread
out between Friday and Dec. 27 with another break for fall semester
finals, but it’s not enough time for the Red Raiders to fall severely
out of shape.

Head coach Tommy Tuberville treats the early bowl practices as a
prelude to spring football practices which begin in late February.
Non-starters, redshirting freshmen in particular, will see a dramatic
increase in reps as they prepare for bigger roles next season until
Texas Tech really focuses in on Minnesota.

Bowl practices are the perfect way to link the regular season to
winter break to the spring semester without players’ skills dulling a
major degree.

The 2006 Insight Bowl

Texas Tech played an epic game against Minnesota in the 2006 Insight Bowl.

Epic in the sense the Red Raiders shook a terrible start to defeats
the Golden Gophers 44-41 in overtime after trailing Minnesota by 31
points early in the third quarter. Glen Mason’s nine-year career in
Minneapolis ended as a direct result of the Golden Gophers’ second half
collapse.

The Texas Tech win was the biggest comeback in bowl history.

Minnesota is back on the right track

After that Texas Tech loss, Minnesota hired Tim Brewster as its head coach and the Golden Gophers went 1-11 in his first year.

However, the squad went back to the Insight Bowl in 2008 and again in 2009 — losses to Kansas and Iowa State, respectively.

Brewster was fired midway through the 2010 season and Minnesota
brought on Jerry Kill from Northern Illinois at the conclusion of the
year.

The Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas will be Kill’s first bowl game as a
Golden Gopher and although the Big Ten was a pretty poor conference
all-around in 2012 the bowl berth is something Kill can build upon.

Have to feel for Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State, who crushed Texas Tech 59-21 on Nov. 17, landed in
the Heart of Dallas Bowl which ranks below the Meineke Car Care Bowl and
the Holiday Bowl Baylor is headed to.

Back-to-back losses to Oklahoma in overtime and Baylor gave the
Cowboys a 7-5 record and they joined a logjam of Big 12 teams with the
same record.

Northern Illinois didn’t do any Big 12 team a favor by making it into
the BCS and forcing Oklahoma down to the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma’s move
pushed the Big 12 teams below it record wise one spot lower in the bowl
picking order.

Over the course of one weekend, the Cowboys went from the favorite
for the Alamo Bowl to the Heart of Dallas Bowl between their 41-34 loss
to Baylor and Northern Illinois’ overtime win against Kent State in the
MAC Championship game.

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